Tea Prices Dip Slightly At Mombasa Auction Even As Demand Peaks

Tea prices dipped slightly at this week’s Mombasa auction remaining below the minimum reserve price despite fairly good demand for the commodity.

At the auction, a kilo averaged Sh283.74 (USD2.320 two cents down from Sh286.18 (USD2.34) in the previous week.

The tea price has remained below the minimum price set by the Ministry of Agriculture of Sh294  ($2.43)for the second week running.

Despite the low price, traders saw improved sales with kilos traded increasing by 908,136 kilos compared to last week’s auction.

“There was a fair demand for the 220,099 packages (14,810,801.00 kilos) on offer with prices showing irregularly easier tendencies. 144,878 packages (9,680,322 Kilos) were sold with 34.18 percent of packages remaining unsold,” said the East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA) managing director Edward Mudibo.

In the week, Kazakhstan and other CIS states showed good but selective interest with a reduced inquiry from Pakistan Packers, Bazaar, Sudan, and Afghanistan. 

Egyptian Packers opened slowly but improved support as the sale progressed while the UK, Yemen, and other Middle Eastern countries-maintained activity but at lower levels.

“There was more inquiry from Iran with reduced interest from Russia. Local Packers were more active. There was less activity from Somalia at the lower end of the market,” said Mudibo.